AN: I found this one sitting on my hard drive while working on `Victim of Love'. So I decided to post it. Happy Holidays everyone! Oh and the story mentioned about Ron and the lights is actually a true story of something my father did one Christmas. *hangs head in shame*

A Christmas To Remember

“A little to the left Harry,” Hermione said, standing on the far side of their living room as Harry attempted to put up their Christmas tree. It was their first Christmas away from Hogwarts, their first since the war had ended, and the first since Harry had realized that he had fallen in love with his best female friend.

Shifting his wand slightly, Harry moved the tree to the left as instructed, before looking back over his shoulder at Hermione. “Better?” he asked, hoping that it finally looked perfect in her eyes.

“Mmm, maybe just a little bit more over that way,” Hermione said, pointing now to the right.

Harry let out an audible sigh. “Hermione, it was JUST there! Then you had me move it to the LEFT. NOW you want me to move it BACK. Which is it?”

He didn't mean to sound so irate, but Hermione was stamping on his last nerve. They had been at this for two hours, trying to get the tree in the perfect place. Harry personally thought it looked straight after the first two times he had moved it. But Hermione didn't think so and had proceeded to have him move it some twenty more.

“Well do you want the tree straight or not?” Hermione shouted, letting air out between her teeth.

“Yes I do, but don't you think it's already straight?” Harry asked her, stepping away from the tree and studying it. From where he stood, it looked perfectly straight. When he turned to tell Hermione this, he was startled to find tears making slow tracks down her face.

Alarmed, Harry reached out a hand to comfort her but she shied away from it. Stung, Harry said, “What's the matter Hermione? It can't be just the tree.”

Hermione sniffed a couple of times before answering, “It's just that, this is our first Christmas together and I want everything to be perfect. And it just seems that it's not going to be and everything seems so wrong and…” She trailed off as more tears trickled down her face.

“Oh Mione,” Harry said, enfolding her in his arms, holding her close. Rubbing her back in slow circles, he whispered softly in her ear. “It's alright sweetie, everything will be fine. You'll see. And who says everything has to be perfect? It wouldn't be one of our Christmas' if something didn't go wrong,” he said quietly, a chuckle escaping him.

Hermione chuckled softly and Harry smiled. “There's that laugh I love so much,” he said pulling away to look her in the face. Hermione gave him a watery smile, before laying her head on his shoulder.

“You're right, Harry, it wouldn't be one of our Christmas' if something didn't go wrong,” she said, sniffling softly. “Remember two years ago, when we were looking for the horcruxes, and Ron and I were stringing the lights on the tree? And he had just put two strands together and only half of the second light up. So deciding that we didn't need the half that didn't work, he cut them in half! And killed ALL the other lights on the tree. EXCEPT the angel on the top?”

Harry laughed at the memory. “Yea I remember that. I thought you were going to kill him. And he sat there like he didn't know what he had done wrong. He couldn't figure out that he had blown the fuses in all the other light strands, he wasn't used to muggle things. That was defiantly a memorable Christmas,” he said.

“Yes it was,” Hermione said, slipping her arms around Harry's waist. “I'm so glad, we get to spend our first Christmas alone together. Not that I don't want to see everyone else, but you know what I mean.”

“Yea, I do. You just want to be able to spend some time away from everyone. With just me,” Harry said, giving her a devilish grin.

Hermione laughed and said, “Oh you! But yes, that is true. I've never spent a Christmas with someone I've been in love with before. It's so new to me.”

“I know, I've never spent Christmas with anyone who loved me period, outside of my time at Hogwarts that is. But I mean, truly loved me, like you do. I've never had that before. I love you so much, Mione,” Harry said, whispering the last part before bringing his lips down on hers for a tender kiss.

Hermione melted into him, pressing her lips firmly against his. “I love you too, Harry,” she whispered as she pulled back.

Smiling tenderly at her, Harry slipped from her arms and looked at the tree. “So, do you agree with me that it's straight?” he asked her.

She seemed to study it for a few minutes before answering. “Yes, I think it is. How about we decorate it?”

“Sounds good to me,” Harry said, reaching for a box of ornaments. They spent the next two hours hanging ornaments and laughing, each ornament having a memory attached to it. When they had hung the last ornament on the tree, Harry heard the clock in the hall chime. It was midnight.

“Wow, I didn't think we'd been at this that long,” he commented.

“Me either,” Hermione said, flopping down on the couch. Harry sat beside her, draping his arm on the back of it. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Harry broke it.

“Happy Christmas, love.”

“Happy Christmas, Harry,” Hermione answered, turning to kiss him. As they kissed, Harry reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled a wrapped package from it.

Pulling away, Hermione looked at him quizzically. “But Harry, I thought we-“

“I know, but I wanted to give this to you now,” he said, handing her the package.

Looking at him oddly, Hermione took it and slowly unwrapped it. As she peeled back the wrapping paper, she gasped.

Harry took the box nestled inside the paper and slipped from the couch, kneeling in front of her. “Hermione, I knew from the moment that I fell in love with you that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. That I wanted you to be the mother of my children. Now the only question is this. Will you be my wife?”

He opened the box, and Hermione gasped again. Sitting in the blue satin of the box was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. The band was white gold, with three stones; a diamond in the middle, and two sapphires on either side of the diamond.

Not trusting her voice, Hermione nodding her head vigorously up and down. The smile on her face widening. Harry felt on top of the world, as he slipped the ring from it's place in the box and onto Hermione's trembling finger.

Finally, she seemed to find her voice, “OH Harry!” before flinging her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Harry held her tight, never wanting to let her go. When finally she seemed to find herself again, Hermione let him go.

“I love you, Harry. You've certainly made this a Christmas to remember.”