AN:

Merry Christmas! This is my third year writing a Dramione Christmas story, so I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to check out my other Christmas stories!

All chapters to this story are completed and will be released before Christmas! So be sure to click the follow button so you don't miss out!

"So how many Knuts are in a Sickle again?"

Hermione hid a smile, watching the grown couple near her count their collective Knuts. Even though she had explained it several times, Mr. and Mrs. Portle couldn't seem to grasp onto the idea of the new currency they were being introduced to.

"Think of it as the money in a new role playing game that you're playing, Daddy," eleven-year-old Angela Portle began explaining to her father. Apparently this Muggle family was big on computer games. They had been comparing the wizarding shopping district in London to a village in their virtual, fantasy world all morning. "The Knut is a bronze coin, and twenty-nine of them make up a Sickle. Sickles are silver, and seventeen of them make up the gold coin which is called a Galleon!" The girl shook a handful of the coins in her hands. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with excitement over her newly found news of being a young witch who was due to attend Hogwarts the following year.

Hermione continued to assist the tiny family, educating them further about the Wizarding world that Angela would eventually be a part of. She was exhausted by the time 4:00 P.M ticked by, and her nose was numb from the bitter, mid December cold, but she was satisfied with what had been accomplished; Angela Portle was well equipped with what she would need for her first year of schooling, in both knowledge and supplies.

"Bye, Hermione!" the girl called out, when Hermione had bid her goodbye as she left the family's home with the girl's parents right behind her for their final words. "Thanks for the book!"

"You're very welcome, Angela." Hermione smiled with glee. She gave every Muggleborn child that was assigned to her a copy of Hogwarts: A History. It had been her favourite book since the day she herself had discovered that she was a witch, and she hoped others would find the read just as interesting as she did.

Out on the stoop, Hermione handed Mrs. Portle a book of stamps that had been specifically designed to send letters to and from the Muggle community for those who didn't own owls. "Feel free to write me if you ever need something."

"You've been so helpful, Hermione!" the woman said gratefully.

"It's always a pleasure," Hermione assured them. "I was once in Angela's position, so I know exactly what she's experiencing right now. My poor parents were clueless—" She burst into giggles and told them about the time her mother put on a random hat that had turned her into a mouse.

"I have no idea what we would have done without you!" Mrs. Portle exclaimed.

"Probably wandered into Diagonally and got stuck in some dark, possessed cabinet or trunk…" her husband said jokingly.

Mrs. Portle laughed. "Or come home with shrunken heads!"

"The Portles are all set," Hermione announced when she returned back to her office that she and her co-worker, Theo Nott, shared. They had worked together for the past three years, transitioning Muggleborn children and their families into the magical community. Theo and Hermione quickly became friends when they became a team. The man was intelligent and quiet. He was caring too, often thinking of others before himself, children especially.

Naturally, Hermione had been surprised when Theo had first been hired, since he had grown up thinking that magical blood was the only blood that should walk the earth, but she had quickly learned that his opinion of Pureblood supremacy had been quite different than he had let on. His father had not given Theo the option to have his own opinion, which he had finally been allowed to express when the elder Nott had been arrested for murdering a Muggleborn years ago. Hermione was happy to have gotten to know the real Theodore Notts.

Theo nodded, acknowledging her presence, but Hermione could tell that he was not exactly paying attention.

"Everything alright?" she questioned, abandoning her paperwork and pushing her desk chair toward his so that it rolled smoothly across the tile flooring and stopped by his side.

The man sighed, rubbing his forehead solemnly. "I've just encountered some terrible news…" His voice drifted off, and he shook his head in complete distraught.

Hermione slid to the edge of her chair, gently squeezing his knee in an attempt to comfort him. "What happened?" Her chest suddenly cramped up in sudden worry. "Is Luna okay?!"

Theo chuckled over the mentioning of his wife. "Oh, yes," he said. "Luna's absolutely perfect. She's a wee bit edgy right now; the healers have her on bed rest. You would think she could handle something like that, but no." Theo scratched his head as a smile tugged his lips. "I have never seen her so restless!"

Hermione matched his smile and gave her hand a tap to his knee. "It's just a couple more weeks before the baby is due, not much longer."

"Yeah." He went quiet, deep in thought.

"So… what's troubling you?" she wondered. "I mean, if you can't tell me, I'll understa—"

"No, it's not a secret or anything…" Theo cut her off, dragging a hand through his now messy hair. "It's just… it's devastating news, and with Christmas right around the corner, it really makes me thankful for the people that I have in my life."

Hermione nodded. She understood how hard it was to lose someone. She had lost her grandmother to cancer this past summer, and she was still struggling over the event, especially since Grandmother was big on Christmas, and this would be Hermione's first Christmas without her.

"So…" Hermione began slowly, "who died…?"

"Harry came in to alert me of this news right before you returned," he began hoarsely. "A witch named Jayden Crescent died in an automobile accident this morning." Theo's jaw set grimly. The corners of his eyes were starting to puff up with redness. "She's left behind a child," he finally finished.

Hermione leaned back into her chair, absorbing the alarming news. "Oh…" she whispered, comprehending what had upset Theo. He had also lost his own mother around this time of year when he was a child. "That poor dear…"

"Christmas is just in a few days away… It's completely unfair…"

"Yeah," Hermione agreed.

"But I at least had my dad." Theo tilted his head in consideration. "Sure, he was a bigot, and it was his way or no way, but I at least had a home… and he loved me… This little girl, she has no one… and now she's homeless..."

"Jayden had no family then?"

Theo shook his head. "She was the last of the Crescent bloodline."

"What about the girl's father? Maybe there is family on his side?"

Theo shrugged. "Harry said her father is or was likely Muggle, and there's no way to find him."

"Well, you don't know for sure if he is Muggle," Hermione pointed out. "Maybe there was a wizard she had fornicated with…?"

"Not impossible, but highly doubtful. She had lived in Muggle London for the past nine years."

"Isn't there a way to check though? Just to be sure? I swear I've read about a spell that can find blood relatives..." Hermione scrunched up her face, thinking.

Theo stood up from his chair, lifting up his index finger. "Actually, there is, but I wouldn't expect much out of it, if I were you. The child is only six, and Jayden didn't spend much time in our world. She was fascinated with Muggles and their electronics."

"Well, it's worth a shot at least. With Christmas approaching, maybe there's a miracle lingering around."

Theo laughed. "You and your love for Christmas."

Hermione felt tears sting her eyes at a sudden memory of her grandmother. She blinked them away and inhaled a shuddering breath, standing up to join Theo. "Grandmother loved Christmas. If I were to turn into a Grinch, I'm sure she'd haunt me into submission!"

"No one needs a haunting grandmother!"

"Precisely!"

*/*

"This test will take two days to take effect," Hermione informed, looking up from the book she had been reading. "What's to be done with—" Hermione looked down at the paper that sat on Harry's desk "—Kamari until then?"

"Traditionally, she'd be placed into a home—"

"You mean an orphanage."

"Yeah…" Harry said cautiously, noting Hermione's grim tone. "The nearest one is over one thousand kilometers away though, and it's full."

"And your home is also full," Hermione concluded. Harry usually didn't hesitate on helping those in need, so there had to be a reason why he wasn't going to temporarily home Kamari.

"We would normally take her, that's no big deal, but we've already bought the tickets—"

"Oh, you're going to Copenhagen!" Hermione smacked her forehead. "I completely forgot!"

Harry laughed. "It's alright! Don't fret about it!"

"But I will fret about Kamari though…" Hermione chewed on her bottom lip. "What if… I looked after her until the result is in...?" She didn't know exactly what to do to help, but Hermione didn't want the child staying at the Ministry until someone figured out where she could go.

Harry's smile widened. "I was hoping you'd suggest that!"

"You think it would be okay then?" she wondered with uncertainty. "I hardly have the space. My flat is only one-roomed."

"It's just for a couple of days." Harry shrugged.

"Well, what if the results show she has no family? What then?"

Harry sighed, having not thought about that. "We'll cross that road if it happens."

Hermione lifted her shoulders. "Alright," she decided abruptly. "I'll take Kamari home with me until we know what to do next."

Harry nodded in approval, and he led the way down the hall where Hermione gasped out in horror. "You didn't place her In-holding, did you, Harry Potter?!" In-holding was a section of the Ministry where people (criminals specifically) were taken as they awaited their fate. It consisted of a bunch of prison cells that were cold, dingy and damp.

Harry scoffed. "I'm extremely insulted that you would think I'd do something so terrible, Hermione!"

"Can you blame me for thinking it though?!" she scolded as they passed the sign that informed them of where they were.

"I left her with Tracy," he explained his reasoning. "Her boy is here today, and he wanted to play with Kamari."

"Oh." Hermione let put a sigh of relief. She apologized for her ill assumption.

Tracy, the woman who did the checking in and out of those In-holding, greeted the two when they approached her counter. "Oh, she's just a doll!" she exclaimed, pointing to the small children who were playing on a floor mat behind her.

Kamari had golden blonde curls that dangled just passed her neck. She wore a red festive dress with white bows and dots and matching leggings.

"Hey, Kamari," Harry spoke softly to the girl, kneeling down to her level. "This is my friend, Hermione, and you're going to stay with her for a couple days. Alright?"

The six-year-old had large, round greyish eyes that clung to Hermione, assessing her over. They then flicked back to Harry.

"When do I get to see my mummy?"

Hermione's jaw set, and she had an extreme difficulty holding back a layer tears. This poor, little child didn't understand what was really going on.

"Remember what I told you earlier?" Harry asked.

Kamari looked at him blankly before she nodded slowly. "My mummy got hurt," she said, scratching at her leg. "She's gone now, and I must go with you, and I'm going to have a new home."

"That's right," Harry told her.

"So why aren't you taking me home with you? Don't you want me? I'm really fun," Kamari assured him, "and I'm cute! Mummy always says so!"

Harry set his hand to her shoulder with a grin on his face. "Of course you're funny and cute, and there's a massive list of amazing people who want you, but Hermione needs you to keep her company, okay? She's all alone, and no one should be alone during Christmas. Am I right?"

Kamari peeked around Harry to look at Hermione again. "She has lots of hair!" she whispered loudly to Harry.

He laughed. "That she does!"

"What do you say, Kamari?" Hermione carefully eased herself into the conversation. "Would you like to spend a few of days with me?"

Kamari gave it a thought. "My mummy was supposed to help me write a letter to Santa Clause tonight," she informed, looking down at the floor sadly before lifting her head back up. "Will you help me instead? Since she can't anymore?"

Hermione forced a smile, swallowing down a forming lump in her throat. "Of course I'll help you, precious."

"And will you make me noodies and cheese? Mummy always makes me that."

"Only if you tell me what that is," Hermione promised.

"Okay!" The girl ran over to a wall on her left where there was a packed suitcase and a stuffed bear. She attempted to pick up the luggage with a grunt, but she was only able to lift it up a mere inch before she allowed it to drop back down to the floor with a thud. "You might have to carry this for me," she advised Hermione. "It's heavy!"

Hermione laughed. "Sure, no problem!"

*/*

"Fancy seeing you here!"

Theo leaned forward to take a peek inside of Hermione's flat. He shivered from the bitter cold. "I heard through the grapevine that you took in the little girl who lost her mother."

"Kamari, yeah." Hermione opened the door wider so that her friend could step in and get out of the brutal winter weather. "She's reading a book I bought her."

Theo smiled. "Let me guess—"

"It's not Hogwarts: A History!" she giggled, rolling her eyes.

"Well that's shocking!"

"Hermione!" Kamari called out. "I don't know this word! Help me!"

Hermione tossed her head toward the girl who was on the sofa engrossed in sounding out the difficult word. "Did you want to meet her?"

Theo glanced at Kamari. He shook his head slightly. "I'm good. I just came by to see how you're faring."

"Hey, I can handle a kid!"

"Well, sure… but…" Theo stopped himself for a moment, lowering his voice so he couldn't be overheard. "Her circumstance isn't exactly normal."

Hermione nodded, knowing what he meant. "She seems to be handling it well."

"Give it time," he warned her. "It hasn't set in yet."

Hermione took in a slow breath. "Right," she acknowledged uneasily.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me, okay?"

"Thanks, and I will. Tell Luna I said hi!"

"Sure thing."

"Hermione," Kamari called out again, this time sighing in exasperation. She gathered the book up and stood from the sofa. "What is this word?"

"Community," Hermione supplied after a quick look.

"Com-mun-ity," the girl repeated, emphasizing each syllable. She then closed the book with a snap. "Will you help me with my letter to Santa now?"

"Sure," Hermione offered, walking to a drawer of which she kept her stationary in and pulling out a sheet of parchment and a pen.

"That's a weird piece of paper," Kamari noted, climbing into one of the two chairs that Hermione had pulled out from her tiny dining table that sat in the kitchen part of her home.

"This is what magical people use," Hermione explained the old-fashioned paper. "Muggles bleach their writing paper, but we do not."

"Is that why the book you got me was yellow?" Kamari asked, speaking about the yellow-coloured pages.

"It is."

Kamari hovered over her sheet of parchment, absent-mindlessly nibbling on the tip of the pen, thinking of what she wanted to ask Santa Claus for.

"Mummy wants a new car— how do you spell 'wants'?"

"Aren't you going you ask Santa for what you want?"

"I will," the girl said pointedly. "But Mummy is first. She always thinks about me first, so now it's my turn. And she needs something to cheer her up."

Hermione stuck her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it. She had no clue what to say to this little child. Her heart ached terribly for Kamari.

"Hermione?" Kamari stressed out, slightly annoyed.

"What is it, precious?" Hermione asked, attempting to clear her head. The night was nearly over, and she'd have to keep her cool for only a short while longer. Then, hopefully, Kamari would start her new life and come to terms with the grand loss of her wonderful mother.

"How do you spell 'wants'?"

"W-A-N-T-S."

Kamari took her time with printing the letters, wanting her penmanship to be positively perfect. "I want Santa to know that I have been working very hard this year," she told Hermione when the witch had complimented on how nice it looked.

"Will Mummy come visit me at my new home?" Kamari wondered with a tilted head as she concentrated on her writing.

Hermione rose up from her seat, rubbing her sickening stomach. She needed tea. No, actually she needed a Firewhiskey, but she wasn't going to drink around a child. She quickly busied herself and changed the subject to distract Kamari.

"So, do you like hot chocolate?"

"Yes!" the girl squealed. "Do you have any?"

"I most certainly do! Do you like it with whipping cream or marshmallows?"

"Marshmallows!"

Hermione prepared the said treat and placed it down for Kamari to drink. It was quiet as the two sipped their hot beverages, with Hermione in deep pity of the child next to her, and Kamari pondering about her letter.

"I want an angel," Kamari finally broke the silence, wiping a layer of chocolate from her upper lip with a sleeve.

"An angel?" Hermione questioned, setting down her tea. "What kind of an angel?"

"One that goes at the top of a Christmas tree! Ours broke last year, and we don't have a topper anymore!"

Hermione nodded slowly, darting her eyes around her undecorated flat. Her grandmother would have crucified her if she had been alive and walked in. She hadn't thought to decorate her home yet, having been busy with her work. Hermione was honestly surprised that Kamari hadn't noted the lack of festivity in the flat. She'd have to fix that.

*/*

"Hermione?"

Hermione stirred awake and lifted her head up. She groaned at the neck pain that had been caused from sleeping on the sofa (she had given the child her bed to sleep in). "Yes, precious?" she asked with a groggy voice, eyeing the clock across the way. It was only two in the morning.

"Can't I see my mummy now?"

Hermione sat up and attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Do you remember what Harry told you?"

"My mummy is hurt, but I want to see her. I want to hug her and give her a kiss, and I want to tell her that I love her."

"I'm sorry, Kamari, but you can't do that."

Kamari stood there, shifting her foot. She lifted up her shoulders in confusion. "Why can't I see her? Where is she?"

"Come here." Hermione patted the seat next to her, inviting Kamari to sit with her. "Have you ever heard of heaven?" she asked once the girl was snuggled up next to her.

Kamari nodded. "We used to have a cat named Felix, but he got real sick, and Mummy said that he went to heaven. I never saw him again."

"Well, your Mummy is in heaven now, with Felix."

"So, she died?" Kamari's voice had gotten so quiet and soft that Hermione barely made out the question.

Hermione squeezed the child to her. "Yes, precious… She's gone, and she's in heaven now, watching over you."

Kamari didn't say anything for several moments. Hermione guessed that she was in shock.

"Am I an orphan now?" Kamari said through a quiet sniff. "Am I like Annie and Oliver Twist?"

The question left Hermione perplexed. She didn't know how to answer it. Surely she didn't want to lie to the child, but she also didn't want to get Kamari's hopes up over the possibility of having a father when no one knew if she had one or not.

"We're going to find you a good home, Kamari," Hermione answered as honestly as she could.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

Kamari pulled from Hermione so that she could look her in the eyes. "This is a good home," she said, "Can't I live with you?"

Hermione's throat clenched up uncomfortably. Kamari was so sweet and innocent, she really didn't deserve such a tragedy.

"Oh, precious," Hermione started soothingly. "I'm not sure that I can."

Kamari's face lowered sadly, and Hermione about burst into tears. "I don't take up much room, and I'm a very good girl!"

Hermione took the girl into a hug. "Yes, Kamari, yes you are."

"Why doesn't anyone want me?" the little girl wondered, sounding like she was ready to cry. Before Hermione could correct her, Kamari wailed out, "I want my mummy! She would want me!" The tears finally let loose, and the girl shook with each sob as she cried in Hermione's arms.

Nearly an hour later, Hermione brushed the golden curls from the sleeping child's forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut, forbidden herself to cry. With a sniff, she kissed the tiny forehead, vowing to find Kamari the perfect new home that she deserved.