A Smile So Warm

December 22, 2009

Dear Diary,

Seriously. I should have told Harry no.

I'd only got back from America and the Cooperation Talks the previous week, and of course, with all the overtime beforehand, I had no time to buy groceries, let alone do Christmas shopping. But one look into those deep green eyes and I never could refuse him anything. So there I was at Malfoy’s, three days before Christmas, looking for a pair of dragonhide gloves for Ginny.

Department stores had finally come to the wizarding world, rather ironically through the Malfoy family, who had modelled their flagship store off Diagon Alley on Harrods. Astoria's idea, I've been told. Thus, I knew exactly who to blame for the persistent perfume witch I was unable to avoid as I entered the store.

Shaking off my annoyance, I headed directly for the Quidditch supplies section. A present for Ginny was the last thing on my list before dinner at my parents’, and I was eager to be out of the crush. I spotted a trio of practise Snitches buzzing overhead and made a beeline for the counter, not paying attention to the hubbub that swirled around me.

“But, Daaaaaaaad, I need a good broom,” whined a child behind me.

“You have a good broom,” explained a patient, pleasant voice tinged with amusement. “These gloves will help you catch better and it's what your grandmother can afford.”

A hand reached out and grabbed the same pair of Chaser gloves I'd just started to pull off the rack.

“I'm sorry—” I began to say as I turned around.

“But, Daaaaaaaaad—” the blue-haired young man said, his voice cracking in the middle. His nose wrinkled in disgust. “What's that smell?”

“I do apologise—” said the patient, pleasant voice. “Son, that's a very rude thing to say. Not Quidditch, at all.”

The young man's hair turned pink briefly, and then reverted to blue. “Sorry I said you smell, lad—” he mumbled, and then his eyes widened. “Aunt Hermione?”

“Teddy?” I exclaimed in surprise. He was nearly as tall as I was. It had been a while since I had seen him, but I hadn't thought it that long.

A moment later I was caught in a gangly, awkward hug that lasted seconds—the time it took Teddy to recall he was hugging a stinky girl in public. He released me quickly and shot me a grateful look when I flicked my wand and murmured 'Tergeo' at both of us.

“Happy Christmas, Hermione,” said the pleasant voice, and I looked up into the dear, kind eyes of my former professor.

“Happy Christmas, Remus,” I replied.

We stood there staring at each other, for what seemed like hours, until Teddy cleared his throat, making us both jump slightly.

“Daaaaaaad,” he whined and caught himself at the mild look Remus gave him. “Dad, I'm supposed to meet the guys at Fortescue's in five minutes.”

“Go on, then,” said Remus absently. “We'll follow behind you in a moment.”

Teddy was gone before the word “moment” had left Remus's lips.

“Would you care to go to Fortescue's?” Remus asked me, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards.

“Yes, I think I would.” I nodded and moved to put the gloves back on the rack.

“You wanted to purchase those, right?” Remus reminded me gently. “For a boyfriend, perhaps?”

“Oh, no. No boyfriend. I was shopping for Ginny, actually. I hear these are all the rage,” I replied, still holding the gloves.

“Then, by all means, buy them for Mrs. Potter,” he said, looking very pleased. “I can come back and get Teddy a pair after Christmas.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, biting my lip uncertainly. At his somewhat exasperated nod, I paid for the gloves and we left the store.

When we got to Fortescue's, Remus spotted Teddy with his friends—all examining the latest issue of Quidditch Monthly—and we waited a few minutes for a table to clear.

He pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down heavily.

“Thank Merlin I'm done,” I said. “I couldn't take much more of that.”

“Especially the rogue scent commandos,” Remus commented, and we both laughed. “I'm not that fond of crowds, myself.”

“I'm glad I ran into you, though,” I replied, glancing down at the menu to cover my blush Why was I blushing? “How about you—all done shopping?”

“For the most part,” he said, holding my gaze and smiling slyly. That smile made my tummy flip over. “No girlfriend to shop for, you see.”

“That's a shame,” I returned breathlessly. “You would make someone a wonderful boyfriend.”

A shadow flitted briefly across his face. “Thank you, kind lady, but few think so, I'm afraid.”

I reached across the table and clasped his hand in mine. “Complete twits, all of them.”

“So says the brightest witch of our age,” he murmured, staring at my mouth.

“May I take your order?” We broke eye contact and looked up. A young witch stood over us, quill in hand, a frantic look in her eyes.

Remus looked at me and I shrugged. “Two hot chocolates and ginger biscuits, please.”

“Coming right up,” she said as she scribbled the order on a bit of parchment and then released it. It flew to the service counter, and she moved on to the next table without another word.

“How did the Talks go?” Remus asked, putting the menus back in their holder.

“Very productive,” I replied. “We were able to renegotiate several trade agreements with the States, in our favour. I have to admit, Percy is generally a stick-in-the-mud, but he can barter with the best of them.”

Remus nodded. “He got me the job in Magical Creatures, you know.” He chuckled at my look of surprise. “Well, he and Arthur did, actually.”

“I had no idea,” I murmured as the wait-witch placed our order on the table.

We sipped our cocoa and ate our ginger biscuits as we chatted, touching on Ministry gossip and news of mutual acquaintances.

As we finished, I glanced up at the shop's clock and gasped in dismay.

“I'm late for my parents!” I exclaimed, opening my purse to pay for my half. Remus waved my Knuts and Sickles off.

“My treat. Since you bought a gift for Ginny, I guess you'll be at Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve?” I nodded and his face lit up as he slowly smiled. “It really is my treat then. We'll be there too.”

I blushed again and returned his smile as I turned to leave, waving goodbye to Teddy. “I'm looking forward to it,” I said, and stepped out the door.

It had started snowing again while I was drinking cocoa with Remus, and Diagon Alley was covered in a fluffy blanket of sparkly white. It crunched underfoot and I could see my breath as I walked, but somehow I didn't feel cold at all.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Super huge thank you to Corianderpie for the beta. Remus says right back at ya, babe.

Written for Voxangelus, Slytherin House Christmas fic exchange 2009 (masterminded by pyjamarama).

Prompts:

1. Hermione brings her new S/O home to meet her parents a few days before Christmas, only to discover they've turned Pagan and are busy celebrating Yule. This probably works best if the S/O is pureblood and is appalled at the things muggles do to approximate "real" magic. Bonus for bitching about "breaking the circle", mentions of "pagan standard time".

2. An argument over the tree. Fake or real? If real, what variety? What color fairy lights? Why? Tinsel or Garland? What sort of ornaments? Etc? Could be a real knock-down drag out ending with hawt make-up sex under the tree. *leers*

3. Someone is shopping for presents, and the other person literally runs into them in a busy store. Packages fly. Apologies are made. Flirting over coffee a plus :D

I hope you enjoyed it, Vox. This was a ton of fun to write.

Merry Christmas to all, and a very Happy New Year.