"Winter is a time for great joy and celebration, but with it comes great sorrow and mourning." – Anonymous

Flashbacks are in italics.

Cedrella Weasley

She could think of many reasons for her feelings; it was winter, she was tired, she was cold, it had been a hard day of work, a slip of the tongue by one of her friends, anything other than the truth. Maybe it was because all the trees stood bare. Their leaves fallen onto the ground and crushed by the feet of passer-bys. There was no-where to hide. No mask to cower behind. She could fool those who didn't know her well, heck she could even kid those who knew her very well, but she could not fool herself.

These thoughts occupied her mind as she lay her youngest son down to sleep. She kissed his head and absentmindedly stroked his hair. She would often wonder what her sons were to become, would they work in the Ministry? Would they be a famous Quidditch star? What house would they be sorted into? Who would they marry? Would they have children? All she knew is that she would always love them and never cast them aside like an old newspaper in the way her own family had done to her.

How could they? Just because of her choice of partner she was now no longer a member of their family? Burned off the family tree? Removed from the photos? Hidden away... ashamed that their daughter had married a blood traitor. If they got to know Septimus as she had they would love him, but they had no interest as soon as they found out he was a blood traitor.

It was Christmas – a time for merriment. She tried to push the thoughts of them from her mind. Every year since she had been disowned from her family, Christmas was a hard time for Cedrella. The little things reminded her of them. There was a memory attached to everything and Christmas was the worst. The rest of the year she could happily live her life and not feel sad every time she saw something that reminded her of them. She could deny her feelings and convince herself she didn't miss them at all, but who was she kidding?

She did not regret her decision to marry Septimus; she loved him with all her heart. He was her rock. Cedrella could not have dreamed for a better man. If only her family could have seen what a great man he is. They didn't want to hear about it. Why couldn't you have been like Callidora or Charis and married a nice respectable pure-blood? They didn't understand. They couldn't grasp the fact that she was in love... with someone like him.

She knew this was not good for her to dwell on these feelings, but it was better to visit them once a year and forget about it the rest, than constantly think of them. Cedrella would find comfort in her loving husband and her three beautiful baby boys, but she couldn't deny that she missed her sisters and her parents.

Callidora and Charis – her sisters. Her older sister Callidora had wed a Longbottom and had a baby boy which pleased her mother and father. She was pregnant with the second at the time when Cedrella was disowned and ended up with a bouncing baby girl. Last she heard Charis had married Caspar Crouch and had a baby girl. It pained her to know she would never meet her nephew and nieces and they would never know who she was. So much for promises...

"And when we're older, our babies can be best friends! They can go to Hogwarts together and what if they were in the same year? They'd have the same dormitory and lessons – imagine that! That'd be great wouldn't it Ella? Wouldn't it?" Charis ran to her, practically beaming at the prospect.

"Of course! That'd be amazing!" she said grinning at her younger sister amused by her excitement.

"What are you two talking about?" came the voice of her elder sister.

"Oh Dora guess what? I've had the most splendid idea..."

She was brought back to Earth by a loud crash coming from the lounge. Her eldest, Arthur, came out of the lounge sheepishly to answer his mothers questioning gaze.

"Tree fell over..." he said not making eye contact.

"What has happened in here?" her mother addressed the three bickering children.

"Dora knocked the tree over!"

"No I didn't! It was you."

"It was you! Ella tell her it wasn't me!"

"STOP IT! ALL OF YOU! YOU WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS!" her mother bellowed at the three.

"Sorry Mummy," the three children said in unison.

"I should hope so. Charis stop that nonsense at once." her mother pointed her wand at the tree to restore it to its former glory. "There. All fixed. I won't tell your father about this as long as you promise not to let it happen again."

"We promise" said the children.

Shaking her head to clear the memoires that had interrupted her train of thought, she tried to focus at the task in hand. Septimus had already taken care of everything. He had fixed the tree and was now talking to Arthur who was looking very sorry for himself. Septimus suddenly picked Arthur up and spun him around, making the four year old squeal in delight. Cedrella laughed at the sight of them spinning like that.

Her own father never did that with her or her sisters. In fact, in rather liked to keep his distance from them. Cedrella could never understand it growing up, but now she was older, she knew it was because he wished they were boys. Callidora 'Dora' was the boisterous beautiful one, long dark hair and striking features. Slytherin – of course. She was Quidditch captain and a bit of a troublemaker. Charis 'who wanted to be called CharChar, but it never really caught one' was the sweet studious one. She had her fair share of admirers what with her sweet blonde bob and emerald green eyes. She was top of the class in everything, all Outstanding at O.W.L.S. She was prefect of Slytherin house. Cedrella? Cedrella 'Ella' was the middle sister, so she was just average. She had the same hair as her eldest sister, but could never quite carry it off as well as her. She was on the quiddich team and she too was a prefect. Her best lesson was transfiguration and of course, she was a Slytherin. Yes, Arcturus was proud of his girls, but you could tell it was a boy he craved. Cedrella doubts if he ever really loved her.

Her mother was a typical pure-blood mother. A housewife, left to bring up the children. Her mother brought them up with the help of their nanny. Cedrella knew that her mother loved her. Now, well she just didn't know.

Septimus had walked over to her while she was deep in thought. He alerted her to his presence by a gentle squeeze on the soldier. They shared a smile that said 'I'm fine' 'I know you're not, but you don't want to talk so I'll just go' and he left to take Arthur to bed. She listened as their son asked Septimus what a rubber duckie was. She grinned at that. Arthur did love muggle things and that was fine by her.

Yes, she had lost her family, but she had gained another one. The one she had gained was so much better. Septimus once told her that he felt guilty being the cause of her being disowned and she told him that he had no reason to be. She had made this decision and she knew it was the right one. It all came down to the fact he loved her, she loved him. It was that simple. Of course she would miss them at times, but it was worth it.

She walked up the stairs and checked on her other sons; Bilius was in the same position as when she had laid him down to sleep earlier and Charles had fallen asleep when reading. She gently prised the book from him and placed it on his bedside table. She kissed him on his forehead and whispered in his ear "I love you," before turning off the light and closing the door.

The end

A/N The deadline for this competition was today and I just had to enter, so I apologize that this isn't very good, but I loved writing it. Weasley Winters Competition by Everyone Loves An Irish Girl.

Cedrella Weasley is Arthur Weasleys' mother and we know she had two other sons. She was disowned by her family for marrying a blood traitor.

To the readers of Dear Fanfiction Writers: the last chapter will be up on the 3rd. I'm on holiday at the moment so can't access my files.