Still don't own HP or make money off this crap. Boo-hoo. All rights to J.K., etc and so forth.

AN: Well, this is it. Can't believe it's been two long, crazy years since I started this puppy. Well, nearly two years. Thank you for seeing me through- I put my heart into all I write and I'm so glad so many of you appreciate it. Cheers and many blessings.

Ok, enough with the sap. *sniffles* Let's get on with it!

Ten Years Later...

"Harry, did you pick up the cider?" Ginny called from the kitchen.

From his armchair, his two boys settled firmly in his lap, he called back, "It's in the icebox, love!"

There was some muttering from the direction of the kitchen and then a series of opening and closing doors, followed by a swear or two. Harry rolled his eyes and started to displace the two tots from his lap.

"Need some help?" he called and Ginny swore again.

"It's fine!" she yelled back, and if her tone was a bit sharper than usual, Hermione didn't blame her. She was nearly nine months pregnant, after all.

The front door opened and then closed with a bang and Draco walked into the parlor.

"Sorry about that," he murmured, then bent to kiss Hermione. He waved to Harry and started to settle in on the sofa beside his wife when another clunk came from the direction of the kitchen. He glanced towards the hall.

"I'll go check on her, shall I?" he said, raising his brows and smirking at the others. Harry tried not to laugh.

"Thanks, mate," he said and then Draco was gone. There was a shriek of glee as Draco reached the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Rose yelled and they heard Ginny greet him as well. The little boy on Hermione's lap was aroused from his nap by his sister's screech and began to squirm.

"No, Scorpius," Hermione chastised. "You know the rule you broke earlier."

"But I didn't eat the cookies!"

"You did and you'll spoil your dinner with sweets if I let you back in that kitchen. Now sit still."

Harry grinned that time.

"Lucky we don't have that problem. James here steals broccoli. And Al spills the pumpkin juice every other week trying to pour himself a glass."

"Oh, like they haven't caused other trouble," Hermione said, making a face at him. "I am over here nearly every day, or Ginny's at our house. You can't pretend they're perfect angels."

Harry looked down at his snoozing boys with a fond smile. "But they are angels, aren't they?"

A tiny ache settled in Hermione's breast, as it did from time to time and she couldn't help agreeing.

"Yes," she said softly. "They are. I wouldn't give it up for anything."

Harry eyed her, knowing full well where her mind had wandered to, and was about to say something, change the subject for her sake, when they heard a heavy tread on the stairs and the voices on Ron and Remus reached their ears.

"Yes, but you see what I mean, now, about the structural integrity of the-"

"Oy, Ron!" Harry called. "Hermione and Draco are here!"

"Hermione!" Ron said happily as he and Remus rounded the corner into the living room. He immediately walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then ruffled Scorpius' hair. Remus gave a quiet greeting and sat next to Harry.

"And how's my boy?" Ron said.

Scorpius crossed his arms.

"Ah, what's he done this time?" Ron asked, holding out his hands and delightfully accepting the wriggling, frowning tot.

"Cookies again," Harry mock whispered and Ron nodded knowingly.

"Well, that's expected. They're just what a boy needs if he wants to grow into a big, strong Gryffindor."

Hermione gave an affectionate, but exasperated sigh. "Ron, will you-"

"I'd prefer that, myself, actually," Draco cut in, poking his head in the door. He smiled at the others. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."

A little girl dressed in a frilly frock that already hosted grass and dirt stains clung to his leg. Her hair was desperately curly and bright red.

Remus, having been away from the group for the last few years in an experimental program to cure Lycanthropy, gave a small start at the sight of her and Hermione flushed. Draco laughed.

"I know, right? Wonder who my wife's been sleeping with?"

"Draco!" Hermione said, aghast, but a mysterious quirk had taken up residence at the corner of her mouth as they both remembered the secrets of the past. The occasional teasing didn't even bother Ron anymore, thankfully, and he'd joined his friends in keeping the past where it was.

Hermione turned to Remus. "Turns out his great-great-grandmother had red hair."

"Go figure," Draco shrugged, then reached down and swung his precious daughter into his arms. She squirmed and pointed at her twin brother, whose hair was mercifully brown, like his mother's, but swept back from his forehead exactly as his father's once had. He had the grey eyes they'd once seen in another vision of a child, too.

"Oh, you want your brother? Well, go on then." He set her down and she ran over to the sofa, crawling in between Hermione and Ron and hugging her mother's waist. Draco smiled again and turned away.

"Dinner in fifteen, now," he said, waggling his fingers at them all. Tonks swept past him as he waltzed back across the hall to the kitchen and came in to stand next to Remus.

"Where's Teddy?" he asked, looking up at her. She and their son had moved with him to the Netherlands, to be close to him during the testing. It had been a long three years, but it had been worth it. His curse didn't cause him pain anymore.

"In the garden with his grandparents."

"And great aunt and uncle," Hermione added.

"So that's where Lucius got off to. I had a question for him," Remus said and Tonks sighed and gestured to the door.

"Then go ask it!"

"I think I will. Thanks, Dora," he murmured, standing and kissing his wife's cheek. Tonks flushed prettily and stole his seat just as the front door opened again.

"Merry Christmas!" came the boisterous greeting as the rest of the Weasley clan spilled into number 12 Grimmauld Place. They peeled off into various spots: the garden, enchanted to keep visitors warm despite the snow, and the kitchen and living room seemed to be the most popular, though heaven only knew where all the children scattered to.

The parlor was soon crowded and the smell of spices and a crackling fire filled the town house.

"I'm always amazed at the job you did redecorating, every time I come here," Arthur began, and Ron turned to his father, eager to discuss the architecture. He was in the process of building his own house, and the subject fascinated him.

"And when is Astoria getting here?" George asked, plopping himself on the floor and letting the children crawl all over him.

"You mean Astoria, the girl Ron finally asked to marry him?" Harry added.

Ron turned bright pink.

"Come on, mate, that was supposed to be-"

"As if I didn't know already, Ron. Now stop playing with the babies and give me one. Go help your sister," Molly ordered, shooing him off the sofa as she made her appearance. A pleased smile hovered at her lips, though.

"I have to say, Hermione, that was the best idea you ever had," she whispered conspiratorially and Hermione grinned.

"It was Draco's idea to set them up," she replied and Molly chortled as Scorpius tugged on her necklace.

"Who's my special little boy?" she cooed. Molly had taken a special interest in the twins, as had most of the people who knew the official version of Draco and Hermione's sixth year. "Who is?" she went on, tickling him delightedly. "You, you precious boy!"

Hermione managed not to cringe and turned to Tonks, who brought up Astoria again.

"She's coming with my parents," Hermione explained. "Dad had to work an extended shift today and since she knows the way here already-"

"That's right, she's taken up dentistry, hasn't she?"

"She's just interning with them," Hermione corrected. "She thinks it will help her with magical dentistry."

"Fascinating!" Arthur responded, clapping his hands. "Just brilliant!"

"Though how she manages all those hours standing in her condition," Molly said, shaking her head ominously.

"She's just pregnant, not carrying the plague," Hermione pointed out and heard something suspiciously like a giggle come from both Harry and George.

"Have they decided on a name?" Tonks asked and Molly looked up and smiled beatifically.

"Hugo," she said proudly.

The doorbell rang and Fred passed by the parlor with a passle of kids, and a few errant wives who were trying to collect said kids, at his heels.

"I've got it!" he called and they heard the door opening.

"Snivellus!" he shouted joyfully and they heard the distinct grumble of their favorite former Potions Master, now head of the Lycanthropy Research Association. "And you've brought the ever lovely Minerva and- why it's Neville, my man!"

The Hogwarts contingent spilled into the increasingly crowded home and warmed the air further as more hugs and greetings were exchanged. Snape shooed George to make room on the floor and immediately had children crawling on him, as well.

Molly's jaw dropped and in an effort to maintain her manners, she turned away. Fred was about to close the door when the final group arrived.

"Ah, Astoria, my sweet, soon to be sister-in-law! And Mr. and Mrs. Granger, welcome, welcome. Everyone is just getting reacquainted, right this way-"

He ushered them into the parlor, where they stood in the doorway and surveyed the mass of people there as even more moved about them, into the kitchen, out of the dining room, up and down the stairs. Mr. and Mrs. Granger met their daughter's eyes from across the crowded room, saw her children near her and the happiness in her eyes, and knew that everything had turned out as it ought.

From behind them, Draco tapped them on their shoulders and gave them each a great hug.

"Good to see you both," he murmured and they eagerly returned his embrace.

"Now," he called over the growing din, "time to eat, then presents. Then carols? Did I get that right?"

There was a stampede as the children, then the adults all exited past him for the dining room that had been enchanted just so it would fit such a huge crowd, and he made his way into the now breathable space to Hermione's side. Scorpius had left in Molly's arms and there was just little Rose, settled on her mother's hip, snoozing away because she was so tired from all the excitement. Draco leaned in and kissed Hermione again, more slowly, then pulled away and slid an arm about her shoulders.

"Alright, love?" he asked softly and she smiled up at him.

"How can I not be, with angels like these?"

He smoothed a curl from his daughter's forehead and smiled down at her before agreeing with his wife.

Only happiness remained when they had angels in their lives, both on earth and in heaven, softening the hard blows they'd taken so many years ago with every day that they remembered the love they shared.

Draco watched Hermione walk on into the brightly lit dining room and then reached back to dim the lights in the living room. He stopped short, transfixed by the sight of the tree. It was still such a beautiful sight to him, a tree hung with candles and tinsel, cranberries and popcorn, and it represented all the good moments of his life. They'd been having these shared Christmases for years now, and it brought new joy to him, every time. A glint hanging from one of the lower branches caught his eye and he walked over, curious, the sounds from the gathering strangely dim to his ears.

There on a branch hung the small pair of baby booties he'd bought Hermione all that time ago. He felt a sudden grip upon his heart and put his hand to his chest, as if he could stave off the emotion that flooded him. There was a second glint and he looked more closely.

On the branch beside it hung the second, small ornament he'd purchased, but never shown her. He'd bought in a fit of idealism, that holiday so long ago. A fit of hope. In fact, he'd thought it had been lost when the Manor had been nearly destroyed. It was simple and rustic and read, "Our First Christmas," and there in the hole where a picture went was a photo of their smallest, lost angel, wrapped in pink and looking like she was merely sleeping.

"How…" he murmured and felt someone kneel beside him.

Hermione put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your mother went back a few months ago and sifted through what was left. I didn't tell you she'd found them. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Draco choked back tears. They hadn't talked about her in years, first on purpose, because it was too painful, and then they hadn't needed to, because they'd learned to live again. But now…

"I never told you," he whispered. "I saw her. That night, that awful night, I-"

"I saw her too," Hermione said. "And I still do, everyday."

"Hermione-"

"Hush," she said, and kissed him softly, trying to tell him with that kiss how much he meant to her still, after all this time. How she wouldn't trade her life with him in it for anything, and how she knew that somewhere, somehow, little Olivia was exactly where she should be, too.

"Merry Christmas, Draco," she said as she drew back.

"I love you," he told her earnestly. She smiled and stood up, pulling him with her.

"And I love you. Come in to dinner, darling."

He rubbed his thumb along that first ring he'd given her, that she still wore every day, faithfully.

"Ok," he said, and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas."

Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders while she wrapped one about his waist, and they joined the others together, memories, angels and all.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery