Chapter Six: Christmas Surprises

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Many thanks to VIVAvivacious for her help as my beta and all of her input into improving this story.

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The Burrow was teeming with people bustling about, struggling to get everything ready for Christmas lunch for a house full of guests, all of who were staying in the rooms that had been added as an extension to the house after Mr. Weasley's promotion in the Ministry. Fred and George had been assigned the task of decorating the arch- and doorways with mistletoe. Luna was trying to keep her, Percy and Penelope's, and Bill's children under control and out of the way, while Ron was putting up the tree with Arthur.

Molly, as predicted, was in the kitchen cooking like mad with Fleur and Penny to help, as well as Septima, who had arrived early. The only one who seemed to be missing was Ginny, when Hermione arrived half an hour before the rest of the guests were due for their fortnight stay. The whole twelve days of Christmas, as an Order tradition, would be spent at the Burrow this year; they alternated the years between there and Grimmauld Place.

Hermione Apparated in the back way and had managed to walk unnoticed to the back door before she was bombarded by the many redheads. The first to get to her when she entered the kitchen were Harriet and Lesley, who both decided to launch themselves into Hermione's arms.

'Hello girls, Happy Christmas to you, too,' she choked out through a relieved laugh.

'Aunty 'Mione, we missed you a lot!' Lesley piped.

'I know, and I'm sorry. My research keeps me abroad though, and it can't be helped, I'm afraid,' she lied easily. She had been using that excuse for years, and it had not failed her once.

'Well, you will have to travel here some time so you can come see me and Daddy,' Lesley said sadly with Harriet quietly nodding in agreement.

Harriet had always been quiet and dreamy like her mother had been when she was younger, but she would grow out of that and into a beautiful, confident young lady soon enough. She put Lesley down and took both the girls' hands as they led her through the hall towards the front sitting room to their father. Hermione braced herself for the hardest and loudest part of the day.

'Hermione!' exclaimed a redhead from the other side of the room.

In an instant, her hands had let go of the girls' and she was being enveloped in the tightest of hugs from Ron. She smiled and reciprocated, hugging him tightly while he breathed a sigh of joy. 'I didn't think you'd come this year,' he said against her hair.

Those words made her chest ache numbly. 'You always say that, and I always come back the next year,' she replied sheepishly, trying very hard to keep the tears back, only hiccoughing slightly in her efforts.

Ron heard her but decided to let it pass and released her from his iron grip. She felt a little thin, but her face showed no signs of distress, so he assumed that she was eating all right and wasn't neglecting herself too much. 'So, you're still working hard?' he asked with a grin from ear-to-ear.

She nodded. 'Naturally,' she answered. 'Oh, but is Septima here? There's something important we need to tell the family before the rest of the Order gets here.'

Ron took her by the hand, sending the girls off to play with their cousins, and led her towards the kitchen, where Hermione expected to be harassed for her weight by Molly Weasley. It was a good thing her glamour disguised exactly how thin she had become. 'Everyone is in the kitchen with mum, getting ready for today,' he said as they walked along.

'All right, that makes it slightly easier, then,' she said quietly.

'What is this, 'Mione? And how does Septima know anything about it? Do you even keep contact with her?' Ron questioned.

'No, I don't usually owl her much, but it is important, and only she and I have any knowledge of it,' Hermione said, trying not to say anything until she found the woman.

They arrived in the kitchen, and just as Hermione had imagined, the rest of the Weasley clan pounced on her immediately, save for the absent Ginny. Hadn't anyone actually wondered where she was? After all, she'd been away since the day before, hadn't she?

'Hermione dear, it's so good to see you again,' Molly welcomed warmly. 'But, what have you been eating? You're so thin.'

'I'm eating fine, Molly,' she replied defensively, looking around for Septima. She caught her eye across the kitchen. 'But. there is something that Septima and I have to tell you. It's about Ginny.'

'Oh yes, have you heard from her? She's a bit late today,' Molly said as she busied herself with some cooking.

'I think you'd better take a seat, Molly,' Septima said, coming over to the short redhead and taking the wooden spoon from her.

'Why?'

'You're not going to like what we have to tell you,' Hermione answered for her. 'It's not bad, but you won't like it much anyway.'

Molly sat down next to Arthur at the table and took his hand, a worried expression on her face. 'All right, now tell us what you know, dear,' the head of the clan said confidently. 'I promise not to blame you for any of it.'

'Well, Ginny wrote to me not long ago,' Hermione began.

'And she visited me just the other day,' Septima added helpfully. 'And she told us of her plans for the holidays, and that she would not be in the country for Christmas.'

Luna gasped but covered her mouth just as quickly. Molly's hand tightened around her husband's, but she remained quiet all the while.

'Go on, Hermione, tell us the rest,' Charlie Weasley insisted on the behalf of the rest of the Weasleys.

'She made us both promise not to speak a word of it to you until this morning, when it was too late for you to stop her from going, but from what she told me, I gathered she just needed a break from her normal life to try and get her head clear and over everything,' Hermione said guardedly. 'I didn't discourage her. It was her own decision, and she is just doing what she needs to do.'

'Don't take this the wrong way, you all know Ginny adores you, but sometimes people crack, and they can only handle so much pity and babying,' Septima added, glancing pointedly at Molly, who paled slightly.

The whole kitchen was silent until the children burst in from the sitting room and began seeking out their parents, telling them the rest of the guests were beginning to arrive. Hermione took that as the cue to exit and went to place her presents under the tree with the rest as Lesley skipped behind her, helping her place them correctly. Luna went with them, and Hermione found she wondered about the Weasleys lack of reaction, save for Luna's initial gasp.

It was not that they weren't disappointed; they were. And it wasn't as if they weren't sad a member of their family felt smothered and distracted; they would always be. But they were too shocked to come up with something solid to speak. Hermione took that as an apology from them to Ginny and left the room satisfied.

A few moments later, the whole of the Burrow was filled with many bodies. Albus and Minerva arrived together, and the biggest surprise for her had been seeing Remus and Septima together. Apparently something had started up between them as well, and that was a warming sight to see. Dumbledore had always commented there had been too little love in the world.

When lunch was beginning to be served, Hermione went to the kitchen and helped to bring out the food with the rest of the ladies as the men sat around, looking smug and waiting for their food to be brought to them. She was on her way back to the dining room with a large bowl of potato salad when the front door opened again while she was crossing through the entry hall, and a dark figure walked inside and began brushing off the snow off his long, black winter coat.

Hermione did a double take and stood in numb shock, watching as the familiar pale, tall man removed the coat, revealing black trousers, a white shirt with the top couple of buttons undone, and a black cashmere sweater over it. He didn't look at all like the man she had known at Hogwarts.

He glanced at her with his dark eyes, a glimmer of silver shooting through his long hair, which had been secured at his neck with simple black hair elastic. His lips pinched together thinly. 'Miss Granger,' he acknowledged with a nod.

'Professor Snape,' she replied quietly before closing her gaping mouth and hurrying down the hall to the dining room. Since when did Snape attend the Weasley Christmas parties?

Hermione left the salad there and returned to the kitchen to find Snape there, talking amiably to Molly and holding a bowl of greens with one hand carefully. She approached hesitantly, only to catch the end of their conversation. '– And I am so glad you could come this year, Severus. Whatever do you do every other year alone?' Molly asked.

'I research,' he said simply when he saw Hermione approach.

'Would you like me to take that, Professor?' she asked softly, trying to avoid his gaze. She had always felt like his eyes could pierce straight through to her soul and know when she was hiding something. She couldn't feel strong around him.

He shook his head, which she saw in her peripheral vision. 'No, I shall help take everything out,' he said quietly with his low, reverberating voice.

'All right,' Hermione answered, picking up another plate of roast vegetables. She fled to the dining room, desperate to remove herself from his gaze.

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A/N – So now Snape is in the picture. I know I took a while to get there, but it does get more interesting from here.