A Christmas Wish, Hermione/Viktor, PG, Part 4 of 7
Title: A Christmas Wish
Rating: PG (There are a few bad words, that's all.)
Pairing: Hermione/Viktor
Word Count: 9000
Summary: Due to a curse during the final battle, Hermione is infertile. All she wants for Christmas is a child. Can Viktor fulfill her Christmas wish?
A/N: This is a Christmas gift to czarownica_asia ! Merry Christmas, sweetie! I know I deviated from your prompt somewhat; I hope I got it close enough! To Asia and everyone else--Enjoy! It's the most lengthy thing I've written in a looong time! Also: unproofread because my brain aches, and EWE.
Prompt: (paraphrased) Viktor will do anything for his wife, but all she wants is a baby. Something happened during the battle with Voldemort and she can't conceive. Viktor's determined to get her a baby and make her dreams come true, maybe from an orphanage because after the war a lot of children were left behind when their parents died.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Viktor’s stomach was a tight bundle of electrified nerves when his boots landed in the snow beside his front gate. Although he was confident that Hermione would love the kids, just going and getting them and bringing them home was admittedly a pretty big step. Maybe he should have talked to her about it first. She would be pretty shocked. He thought back to the Honeydukes fudge he’d brought her yesterday. She usually liked his surprises…this one was just a teensy bit bigger than most. Ok, fine, bigger than anything he’d ever done before.
The stone house, complete with snow on every possible surface, a sky of diamond stars, and smoke curling out of the chimney, looked like a scene from a Christmas picture book. The fairy lights twinkled through the picture window, and the fire danced and swirled in the fireplace, illuminating Hermione, who was snuggled in the armchair with a book on her lap and one of Molly Weasley’s knitted blankets tucked around her. As they stood looking at the house, Crookshanks leaped onto the back of the chair and lay down, curling his tail around him.
Katie gasped, “We have a kitty?!”
Luke asked, in a voice filled with longing, “Is that Mum? I mean, your wife? Does she like stories?”
Viktor answered each in turn. “Yes, Katie, the kitty is called Crookshanks. And yes, Luke, that’s Mum. She loves stories and books. Do you like them?”
He nodded, eyes still on Hermione. “Nobody’s read me a story since Mama died. I can read a little, but all the books at the orphanage didn’t have real letters in them so I couldn’t read those.”
Viktor chuckled. “That kind of letters are Cyrillic. That is how they write in Bulgaria. I haff some books like that; if you like, someday I can teach you to read them. But for now, vould you like to inside and meet Mum and Crookshanks?”
The kids followed him to the door, Katie clinging to his hand, Luke trailing behind, pretending not to be eager. In just one afternoon, Viktor had Katie’s trust. Her sweetness and innocence was beautiful and endearing. Luke would take a little longer to win over-but then, Luke was old enough to remember what he had lost. Viktor had learned this afternoon that Luke turned five right before they left for their vacation; the children had been in orphanages for over a year.
Viktor took a deep breath and pushed open the front door. “Hermy-own-ninny?” he called, stomping snow off his boots. “I haff bring you an early Christmas present.”
“I’m in the family room,” she called back. Katie shyly wrapped both arms around Viktor’s leg; he untangled her and carried her to the family room, turning on the light.
Hermione gaped at Viktor and the children. “What’s-“
“Hermy-own-ninny, I vould like for you to meet Katie and Luke. Kids, this is Mummy, and that is Crookshanks on the chair.”
Hermione bit back whatever she had been planning to say, although she shot a questioning glance at Viktor. “It’s very nice to meet you, Luke and Katie. I made some cookies this afternoon; would you like some?”
They all trailed after her to the kitchen. Luke sat at the table and quietly accepted the glass of milk and plate of cookies Hermione gave him, but Katie stood staring at Hermione with her fingers in her mouth. When another place was set, Hermione smiled at her. “Go on now, honey; have some cookies.”
Instead of getting in the chair, Katie wrapped her arms around Hermione’s legs. “Thank you for wanting to be my new mummy,” she announced, turning her hopeful smile and big, bright eyes up.
Hermione stroked her hair. “You’re very welcome. Now, eat your snack, and when you’re finished you can come back to family room, ok?”
Luke nodded and Katie took her seat, and Hermione pulled Viktor into the hallway. “What on earth is going on?” she hissed.
“You say you vant a child for Christmas. You do not care vhere it come from. So I vent to Bulgaria to get a child from an orphanage. I see Katie, she make me think of you, in the eyes. And then Luke…I vanted them both, so I get them and bring them home.”
“In one day? What about paperwork? What about…about…home visits and all that? What about telling me we were adopting children?” Her voice was shrill by the end of her questions, although she was talking quietly so Luke and Katie wouldn’t hear her.
“That vhy I go to Bulgaria. More famous there. And…vell, I vant to surprise you. I know, is big surprise, but…are you angry vith me?” Viktor gave her his very best innocent eyes.
“I’m-“ Hermione cut herself off, looking surprised suddenly. “No, actually, I’m not angry. Viktor, you got me two children for Christmas? From a Bulgarian orphanage? How old are they? Does…does the boy speak English? Oh, tell me about them!” Her eyes were shining by now.
“They are brother and sister, Lucas and Katherine. They are Americans who vere on vacation, their parents killed, so yes, Luke speaks English too. He is six and Katie is four. They are Muggleborn. Actually,” Viktor said, brow wrinkling, “Katie has not shown any magic yet. She may be a Muggle. But I thought that you vould be good mother for a Muggle girl or a vitch girl, either vay.”
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him more deeply than he could remember being kissed in recent months. “Thank you,” she whispered, her heart filling her voice.
“Papa?” a small voice asked, and Viktor looked down to find Katie and Luke coming out of the door. “Can I pet Crookshanks?”
“Yes, Katie, if he say it is ok,” Viktor scooped her up and carried her to the family room.
“I have another mother,” Luke announced to Hermione.
“Of course you do, Luke. Will you tell me about her?”
Luke’s eyes popped wide; he hadn’t been expecting this woman to ask about Mama. “Her name was Caroline, and she read stories to me. She was pretty, with yellow hair, like Katie’s used to be. Her eyes were green and she smelled like flowers.”
Hermione smiled. “She sounds lovely, Luke. Anytime you want to talk about her, or about your father, you are more than welcome to.”
She held out a hand to Luke. Timidly, he took it, and let Hermione lead him to the family room.
The children were entranced by the grumpy old cat and the Christmas tree. Katie was trying to poke the fairies, who kept trying to get away, while Luke scratched Crookshanks behind the ears. Hermione sat beside Viktor.
“Where exactly were you planning on the kids sleeping? I guess they don’t have any luggage, either?”
Viktor met her eyes sheepishly. “Uh…I did not think much past bringing them home. Ve haff the guest rooms. Giff Luke the green vone and Katie the purple vone. After Christmas ve can take them shopping for bedroom stuff. Maybe ve should buy some clothes sooner, though. Tomorrow ve go shop?”
“Christmas!” Hermione gasped. “Viktor, Christmas is two days away! We have to get presents tomorrow! We’re due at Molly’s with the family for Christmas Eve day.”
Viktor realized that he really should have planned ahead for this. Maybe all that paperwork was in place for a reason; the thought of these children spending another minute in that deplorable orphanage, however, made him decide his spur-of-the-moment adoption was for the best. The way Katie’s eyes were shining as she gently touched a shining Christmas tree ball was worth it. And Luke wasn’t scowling; if anything, he was watching Hermione with something close to acceptance.
“Maybe…Can ve ask Ginny to babysit tomorrow? Merlin knows ve vatch Teddy and the twins often enough.”
“I’ll Floo her after I put the kids to bed. I should probably start on that now,” Hermione realized. “I’ll give them a couple of your t-shirts for nighties tonight. Katie,” she called, “Would you like to have a bubble bath? And I’ll wash your hair with shampoo that smells pretty, too.”
Katie eagerly flew up the stairs after Hermione. Luke came over to the sofa and sat a safe distance from Viktor-but it was a start. “She seems really nice. She asked about Mama.” Luke paused a moment, watching the flames in the fireplace. “I think I might like to call her Mum, too, like Katie. And if Katie’s going to call you Papa, I might as well do that too. I wouldn’t want Katie to feel bad because I didn’t.”
“It is very good of you, son, to take such good care of your little sister. And to take care of her at the orphanage, too.”
Luke sat up as tall as he could. “I never let that mean old man hit her! He tried, because we didn’t talk the same way and he got mad and yelled, but I didn’t let him hurt Katie! She’s so little.”
Viktor’s heart battled in rage for the caretaker and pain for these-his-children. Luke’s small, thin shoulders were squared, and he was trying to look tough and strong, but Viktor knew that an adult, even one as frail as that old man seemed, would hurt a child when he struck him. “No vone here vill hit her, or you either. You are a brave boy to protect her. If you are naughty you may get a spanking, but no vone vill hurt you. I promise you that, Luke.”
Luke didn’t say anything, but Viktor read his thoughts in his expression. He wanted to believe Viktor’s words, to trust that this home could be his and Katie’s safe haven, but the past year had hurt him. Viktor vowed to prove to Luke that they would be safe under his roof and in the shelter of his arms.
Part Five
Rating: PG (There are a few bad words, that's all.)
Pairing: Hermione/Viktor
Word Count: 9000
Summary: Due to a curse during the final battle, Hermione is infertile. All she wants for Christmas is a child. Can Viktor fulfill her Christmas wish?
A/N: This is a Christmas gift to czarownica_asia ! Merry Christmas, sweetie! I know I deviated from your prompt somewhat; I hope I got it close enough! To Asia and everyone else--Enjoy! It's the most lengthy thing I've written in a looong time! Also: unproofread because my brain aches, and EWE.
Prompt: (paraphrased) Viktor will do anything for his wife, but all she wants is a baby. Something happened during the battle with Voldemort and she can't conceive. Viktor's determined to get her a baby and make her dreams come true, maybe from an orphanage because after the war a lot of children were left behind when their parents died.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Viktor’s stomach was a tight bundle of electrified nerves when his boots landed in the snow beside his front gate. Although he was confident that Hermione would love the kids, just going and getting them and bringing them home was admittedly a pretty big step. Maybe he should have talked to her about it first. She would be pretty shocked. He thought back to the Honeydukes fudge he’d brought her yesterday. She usually liked his surprises…this one was just a teensy bit bigger than most. Ok, fine, bigger than anything he’d ever done before.
The stone house, complete with snow on every possible surface, a sky of diamond stars, and smoke curling out of the chimney, looked like a scene from a Christmas picture book. The fairy lights twinkled through the picture window, and the fire danced and swirled in the fireplace, illuminating Hermione, who was snuggled in the armchair with a book on her lap and one of Molly Weasley’s knitted blankets tucked around her. As they stood looking at the house, Crookshanks leaped onto the back of the chair and lay down, curling his tail around him.
Katie gasped, “We have a kitty?!”
Luke asked, in a voice filled with longing, “Is that Mum? I mean, your wife? Does she like stories?”
Viktor answered each in turn. “Yes, Katie, the kitty is called Crookshanks. And yes, Luke, that’s Mum. She loves stories and books. Do you like them?”
He nodded, eyes still on Hermione. “Nobody’s read me a story since Mama died. I can read a little, but all the books at the orphanage didn’t have real letters in them so I couldn’t read those.”
Viktor chuckled. “That kind of letters are Cyrillic. That is how they write in Bulgaria. I haff some books like that; if you like, someday I can teach you to read them. But for now, vould you like to inside and meet Mum and Crookshanks?”
The kids followed him to the door, Katie clinging to his hand, Luke trailing behind, pretending not to be eager. In just one afternoon, Viktor had Katie’s trust. Her sweetness and innocence was beautiful and endearing. Luke would take a little longer to win over-but then, Luke was old enough to remember what he had lost. Viktor had learned this afternoon that Luke turned five right before they left for their vacation; the children had been in orphanages for over a year.
Viktor took a deep breath and pushed open the front door. “Hermy-own-ninny?” he called, stomping snow off his boots. “I haff bring you an early Christmas present.”
“I’m in the family room,” she called back. Katie shyly wrapped both arms around Viktor’s leg; he untangled her and carried her to the family room, turning on the light.
Hermione gaped at Viktor and the children. “What’s-“
“Hermy-own-ninny, I vould like for you to meet Katie and Luke. Kids, this is Mummy, and that is Crookshanks on the chair.”
Hermione bit back whatever she had been planning to say, although she shot a questioning glance at Viktor. “It’s very nice to meet you, Luke and Katie. I made some cookies this afternoon; would you like some?”
They all trailed after her to the kitchen. Luke sat at the table and quietly accepted the glass of milk and plate of cookies Hermione gave him, but Katie stood staring at Hermione with her fingers in her mouth. When another place was set, Hermione smiled at her. “Go on now, honey; have some cookies.”
Instead of getting in the chair, Katie wrapped her arms around Hermione’s legs. “Thank you for wanting to be my new mummy,” she announced, turning her hopeful smile and big, bright eyes up.
Hermione stroked her hair. “You’re very welcome. Now, eat your snack, and when you’re finished you can come back to family room, ok?”
Luke nodded and Katie took her seat, and Hermione pulled Viktor into the hallway. “What on earth is going on?” she hissed.
“You say you vant a child for Christmas. You do not care vhere it come from. So I vent to Bulgaria to get a child from an orphanage. I see Katie, she make me think of you, in the eyes. And then Luke…I vanted them both, so I get them and bring them home.”
“In one day? What about paperwork? What about…about…home visits and all that? What about telling me we were adopting children?” Her voice was shrill by the end of her questions, although she was talking quietly so Luke and Katie wouldn’t hear her.
“That vhy I go to Bulgaria. More famous there. And…vell, I vant to surprise you. I know, is big surprise, but…are you angry vith me?” Viktor gave her his very best innocent eyes.
“I’m-“ Hermione cut herself off, looking surprised suddenly. “No, actually, I’m not angry. Viktor, you got me two children for Christmas? From a Bulgarian orphanage? How old are they? Does…does the boy speak English? Oh, tell me about them!” Her eyes were shining by now.
“They are brother and sister, Lucas and Katherine. They are Americans who vere on vacation, their parents killed, so yes, Luke speaks English too. He is six and Katie is four. They are Muggleborn. Actually,” Viktor said, brow wrinkling, “Katie has not shown any magic yet. She may be a Muggle. But I thought that you vould be good mother for a Muggle girl or a vitch girl, either vay.”
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him more deeply than he could remember being kissed in recent months. “Thank you,” she whispered, her heart filling her voice.
“Papa?” a small voice asked, and Viktor looked down to find Katie and Luke coming out of the door. “Can I pet Crookshanks?”
“Yes, Katie, if he say it is ok,” Viktor scooped her up and carried her to the family room.
“I have another mother,” Luke announced to Hermione.
“Of course you do, Luke. Will you tell me about her?”
Luke’s eyes popped wide; he hadn’t been expecting this woman to ask about Mama. “Her name was Caroline, and she read stories to me. She was pretty, with yellow hair, like Katie’s used to be. Her eyes were green and she smelled like flowers.”
Hermione smiled. “She sounds lovely, Luke. Anytime you want to talk about her, or about your father, you are more than welcome to.”
She held out a hand to Luke. Timidly, he took it, and let Hermione lead him to the family room.
The children were entranced by the grumpy old cat and the Christmas tree. Katie was trying to poke the fairies, who kept trying to get away, while Luke scratched Crookshanks behind the ears. Hermione sat beside Viktor.
“Where exactly were you planning on the kids sleeping? I guess they don’t have any luggage, either?”
Viktor met her eyes sheepishly. “Uh…I did not think much past bringing them home. Ve haff the guest rooms. Giff Luke the green vone and Katie the purple vone. After Christmas ve can take them shopping for bedroom stuff. Maybe ve should buy some clothes sooner, though. Tomorrow ve go shop?”
“Christmas!” Hermione gasped. “Viktor, Christmas is two days away! We have to get presents tomorrow! We’re due at Molly’s with the family for Christmas Eve day.”
Viktor realized that he really should have planned ahead for this. Maybe all that paperwork was in place for a reason; the thought of these children spending another minute in that deplorable orphanage, however, made him decide his spur-of-the-moment adoption was for the best. The way Katie’s eyes were shining as she gently touched a shining Christmas tree ball was worth it. And Luke wasn’t scowling; if anything, he was watching Hermione with something close to acceptance.
“Maybe…Can ve ask Ginny to babysit tomorrow? Merlin knows ve vatch Teddy and the twins often enough.”
“I’ll Floo her after I put the kids to bed. I should probably start on that now,” Hermione realized. “I’ll give them a couple of your t-shirts for nighties tonight. Katie,” she called, “Would you like to have a bubble bath? And I’ll wash your hair with shampoo that smells pretty, too.”
Katie eagerly flew up the stairs after Hermione. Luke came over to the sofa and sat a safe distance from Viktor-but it was a start. “She seems really nice. She asked about Mama.” Luke paused a moment, watching the flames in the fireplace. “I think I might like to call her Mum, too, like Katie. And if Katie’s going to call you Papa, I might as well do that too. I wouldn’t want Katie to feel bad because I didn’t.”
“It is very good of you, son, to take such good care of your little sister. And to take care of her at the orphanage, too.”
Luke sat up as tall as he could. “I never let that mean old man hit her! He tried, because we didn’t talk the same way and he got mad and yelled, but I didn’t let him hurt Katie! She’s so little.”
Viktor’s heart battled in rage for the caretaker and pain for these-his-children. Luke’s small, thin shoulders were squared, and he was trying to look tough and strong, but Viktor knew that an adult, even one as frail as that old man seemed, would hurt a child when he struck him. “No vone here vill hit her, or you either. You are a brave boy to protect her. If you are naughty you may get a spanking, but no vone vill hurt you. I promise you that, Luke.”
Luke didn’t say anything, but Viktor read his thoughts in his expression. He wanted to believe Viktor’s words, to trust that this home could be his and Katie’s safe haven, but the past year had hurt him. Viktor vowed to prove to Luke that they would be safe under his roof and in the shelter of his arms.
Part Five