Sleigh Ride

by Lorelai Grint

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other of the characters; however, I believe I still have the right to play with them ;)

'James, please be careful!', Ginny yelled as James shoved his brother playfully. Albus looked rather annoyed at his brother and was about to retaliate.

'Al, don't you dare!', Ginny yelled again. 'Don't you two see you're on a hill covered in snow? Do you know what could happen to you if you slide down without caution?'

'Ginny, dear, don't be so harsh on them', Harry approached and kissed her gently on the cheek. 'We've done worse when we were their age and we're fine, aren't we? And so are those two'.

Ginny looked over to Ron and Hermione. Ron was behind Hermione, embracing her tenderly, both looking at Hugo carefully setting the sleigh to Rose. Lily was near, uncertain to whether give up or not on her brothers and ask her cousins to set up the sleigh for her.

'Why can't Al and James be more like Rose and Hugo?', Ginny asked, more to herself than to Harry, looking throughout saddened. 'They get on so well, look at them, so sweet…'

At that exact moment, Rose got up from the sleigh and pushed Hugo hard on the chest, making him fall flat on his back.

'I think they're more alike than you think', Harry laughed. 'That Fred and George gene is just too strong…'

'Oh yeah, 'cause you were a saint when you were their age, Potter… Never got into trouble, did you?, Ginny smiled and kissed him on the lips.

'ROSE WEASLEY! What do you think you're doing?', Hermione shouted angrily, running towards Hugo and helping him get up on his feet.

'Come on, Mom, he's doing it all wrong! He thinks that only because he's a boy-'

'And you think that just because you're older-'

'Stop it, you two', Ron said sharply, reaching his family.

'Mom, come on… I'm fine, stop that!', Hugo complained as Hermione made to straight his hair.

'Hugo, manners, mate', Ron said, ruffling his son's hair. Hermione stared menacingly at him. 'What? He's fine, Mione!', Ron smiled at Hermione and looked back at his son. 'Don't talk to your mother like that, young man'.

'Ah! Young man… You wish', Rose stuck her tongue out at Hugo.

'Rose, stop it, I've said so already! Now, what's wrong with the sleigh after all? Your grandma will have dinner ready in a minute and-'

'It's only five o'clock!', Rose screamed in a high-pitched voice.

'I don't want to go home yet!', Hugo groaned.

'Ah, that sucks!', James's voice joined in beside them.

'Well, that's too bad, Mr James Potter', Ginny retorted, walking up to Ron and Hermione. 'You know how your grandma is like on Christmas Eve, she likes to have everyone gathered early. And if you still want to have some pudding, I advise you to stop with the swearing'.

'Sorry, Mom', James blushed slightly. Harry was still amazed at how being told-off by Ginny affected James. He'd always act like the bad boy but whenever he was near his mother he would shy away and be the boy he really was inside. It was as though he couldn't pretend to his parents.

'There!', Ron's voice echoed happily. 'It's all fixed for you kids! Yours too, James and Al… Lily, dear, why don't you come with Rose and Hugo? I'd say it's safer for you, kid', Ron motioned his niece in Rose's direction; Lily actually felt relief.

Harry gave a soft push on his sons' sleigh and Ron did the same to the girls and Hugo's. The sleighs slid neatly down the hill.

'You so used magic', Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron.

'No, I didn't', Ron mumbled back. 'Can't you ever believe I actually make things without magic?'

'Did you really not use it?', Ron seemed alarmed at Hermione's second doubt, so she quickly added 'OK, OK, I'm sorry! Ron, I'm sorry, don't be like that!'

'So many years on and they're still the same… Just can't change, can they?', Ginny whispered softly in Harry's ear, laughing.

'No… it's so much stronger than either of them', Harry smiled back.

'DAD! DAD!', James and Rose's voices echoed from the bottom of the hill.

'What? What's wrong?', Ron and Harry started half running, half sliding down the snowy hill. Ginny and Hermione looked completely terrified at the thought of one of the kids injured.

'This is just too heavy, man!', James smiled broadly at his father and uncle, who looked ready to commit murder. 'Give us a hand, will you? Please?', he threw in quickly, noticing the adults' look and handing them the sleigh.

'That's it, James, no more television for you, your talking's getting all funny… And it's not 'man', it's 'dad', if you please'.

'By the way, I did use magic with these, just don't tell Hermione', Ron said, smiling broadly. 'And I still don't know why you got your kids that Muggle stuff, mate, honest…'

'Can we have one, Dad? Please? Please, please?', Rose started chanting and Hugo joined in quickly.

'NO WAY!', Ron cried, even though a smile danced on his lips while carrying the sleigh up the hill.

'Oh, I'll just ask Santa then', Hugo concluded tentatively.

'Duh! You're such a baby! Santa doesn't-'

Hermione quickly covered Rose's mouth and looked at her warningly. 'We should go back, don't you think?'

Everyone agreed, even the kids, who after seeing themselves covered in snow and shacking with cold seemed less prone to argue about being at the Burrow long before dinner.

When they reached the Weasley's house, the same amazement filled all of their hearts: the Burrow was covered in snow, Christmas lights in every window, and two big lit pine trees just outside the door. The gnomes in the yard were wearing little Santa's hats, singing (or so it seemed) Christmas carols, in an unintelligible musical rant. Hermione held Ron's hand tighter, Harry embraced Ginny closer to him, their children all running together to the porch. In a minute Mrs Weasley would come out and greet her grandchildren, and then they would know it really was that time of the year; Christmas was now worth every single Christmas they had lived worrying about the war or in which they had been apart. In those years, Christmas was everything they had, everything they needed: family and friends; only, then Christmas was around them everyday, and not only at a certain season of the year.