Her praise sent his head buzzing, and he had a self-satisfied smile on his face that he was hardly even conscious of. "I didn't bring cups," he admitted. "Figured you wouldn't mind sharing." Since they'd already kissed twice, and would probably do a good deal more of that before the night was through, it stood to reason they could share a thermos.

"How long do you think you can stay?" he asked, as he found a place to safely display her Christmas gift to him so that he could have his hands free to arrange cocoa and blankets (and perhaps to get into some mischief afterwards, if he was being entirely honest). "There's a floo at the dock and I told the bloke I rented the boat from not to wait up for me, so I can sail her in whenever you want to head home and no one'll be the wiser. I thought that'd be better than trying to guess exactly when and where a portkey could take you back."

Having found a safe place to nestle the bottle among the coiled line, Alfred turned his attention to the blankets and spread one open wide, then gestured for her to sit besides him at the center of it. "I want you to stay all night, of course," he continued with a wistful smile. "But thought I should ask how much time we have before we get carried away and lose track."