Usually Charlie loved Christmas at the burrow. But this year he couldn't stand it. He was tired of screaming toddlers and people asking him when he was going to settle down and start a family of his own. He didn't see himself as the marrying type. He has his dragons and that was all he needed in life. Right now, however, he needed an escape, and maybe a stiff drink.
He quietly slipped out of the crowded room and climbed the stairs of his childhood home, seeking solace. Passing a cupboard, he heard a small sniffle. That was unusual, even in a house full of magic. Curious, he opened the door.
Curled in the cupboard was Rosie, his baby brother's oldest, crying.
"What's wrong Rosie-Roo?" he asked the sniffling two-year-old.
"Nobody wants me any more. They only like Hugo."
He scooped the girl in his arms. He understood entirely. Spending the holidays with a new sibling was never fun.
"It's okay Rosie-Roo," he said, "Everyone still loves you. They're just excited to see your new brother."
"But they all like him more than me," repeated the toddler, stubbornly.
"No, they don't, sweetheart," he reasoned with her, "When your daddy was a baby I felt the same way, but your Grandma Molly still loves me. Even now that I'm grown up."
"Really?" The girl asked, rubbing her eyes with her fist.
"Yes ma'am. And you know what, Missy?" He asked, "You are my favorite little Weasley." Seeing that she was smiling now, he continued, "Why don't was go back down and see if they've started in on presents."
Charlie never really wanted children, but little Rosie made him think different from time to time. Maybe he did need more in life that just his dragons. Rosie had proved that to him.
There was just something there. A special bond. Uncle to niece.