I LOVE ROSE/SCORPIUS.

And I also love reviews. Welcome to Life Of A Weasley :)

Edit: I've started a blog for this story; just a collection of pretty pictures that relate to the story to keep me inspired. Take a look if you're interested, the link is on my profile.

NOTE: British English use, so some spelling differences here and there (not mistakes, I promise!) eg. color=colour, realize=realise and some other weird grammatical things.

Chapter 1

Christmas at the Burrow: Red-heads, Potter-Weasleys, inflated egos, pudding, wine, tipsiness and tears.

In other words, everyone gets drunk as a skunk and it's really loud.

And then there's me, Rose Weasley. The center of calm within the storm that is the Weasley-Potter clan. Or, at least, according to me. Everyone in my family thinks I'm completely bonkers.

Currently I'm in the rumpus room (a fairly new extension of the Burrow built when family gatherings without an elbow in the eye became practically impossible), with the 'kids'; Lily, Lucy, Hugo, Albus, and James. We're all sitting in a kumbaya-like circle except Dominique and Roxanne, who are sitting apart from the group cackling over something. Boys, probably.

"Ugh!" Lily shrieks as she spits out the Tingling Tonsils lolly Uncle George gave us to test out Weasleys Wizard Wheezes' new range. "I got 'spider-in-your-mouth'."

James, Hugo, and Albus all laugh at her while Lucy pats her back sympathetically. I do not like the sound of this game.

The Tingling Tonsils are fairly innocuous looking lollies wrapped in a clear plastic, heaped in the middle of the circle. Lucy reaches for a bright pink one and unwraps it. She pops it in her mouth.

Her eyes widen, and we all watch with bated breath as she yells, "Toilet brush!"

"Ughhhh," the others chorus.

"Red?" James asks me, gesturing towards the pile. I glare at him. He knows I hate that name.

"Why do you do this to yourselves?" I ask.

"It's fun," says Hugo.

I shake my head. "Hell no." I don't even like to eat vegetables. There is no way I am willingly putting my taste buds through toilet brushes and moss and God knows what.

Thankfully, Aunt Fleur calls from downstairs; "Rose! Can you put Louis to bed?"

"Coming!" I yell back down.

I leave the others (Albus gets "soggy-wet-bread") and head downstairs to the living room where Aunt Fleur is canoodling with Uncle Bill. Louis is in his bug-shaped baby walker, and he beams up at me when he sees me.

"Rosie!" Dad booms.

I look over at him at the dining table, face flushed with a glow only Grandad Arthur's vintages can give. He's sitting with a rather tipsy-looking Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, and an equally red-faced Uncle George. Aunt Angelina looks mortified when George slaps her on the bum as she gets up to get more Christmas pudding.

"Yes?" I ask as I pick up Louis.

"Tell your uncle here I finished the Belgian Burger at the Broomsticks in less than twenty seconds."

Ugh.

"Dad ate the Belgian Burger in less than twenty seconds," I tell Harry.

Harry shakes his head firmly. "No way did you do that. Not even Neville finished that challenge."

"I told you, I did!" Dad exclaims. He points dramatically at me. "Rose was there! Rose would never lie!"

Ginny seems to be ignoring them; she's reading the label on the bottle of wine at the table. I turn back to Louis while my dad and his best friend continue their pointless debate.

"Time for bed you little monster."

"I wish you wouldn't call 'im zat," says Fleur.

"But he is a little monster," I say, raising him up in the air and rubbing my nose in his little pot belly. He shrieks with glee.

Obviously Fleur is still a little sensitive about Uncle Bill's wolfish tendencies. None of the traits have passed onto any of their children, though - although Victoire and Dominique can be right bitches when they want to be. Which is all of the time.

"He's our little monster," says Bill, raising a glass.

Fleur purses her perfectly rouged lips in response.

I settle Louis on my hip and we leave the adults to their chatter. Affectionately known as Bill and Fleur's little accident, Louis is possibly the cutest baby in the wizarding world. It also helps that he is part-Veela, but still, that only affects his angelic looks; his sweet temperament is a trait all of his own.

I pass Nana Molly and Granddad Arthur slow dancing in front of the fireplace.

"Goodnight, Granddad!" I say, waving my hand at them.

Louis copies me by flailing a chubby hand in the air. Granddad waves back enthusiastically, and Louis giggles.

Molly Junior is on the couch with her nose buried in a textbook.

"Goodnight, Molly!" I say in a baby voice.

Molly looks up at me over her glasses. Of course, now that she has been appointed prefect this year she has informed the family she has matured, and she doesn't deign to respond to my juvenile behaviour. This is a good place to note that I am actually a full year ahead of her, and am myself a prefect. She turns back to her book.

I make my way upstairs again, and as I'm going down the hallway to Bill and Fleur's room, I almost have a heart attack as I spot someone sitting in the dark in the room opposite theirs.

Teddy jumps at the sight of me, too.

"Hi," I say through the doorway from the hall.

"Oh, hi, Rose."

He's sitting on his bed clutching a piece of paper. It's way too dark in there to see much, so I have no idea what he's doing. Meditating, or something.

"Er… What are you doing in here?''

Teddy gives me one of his easy smiles, shakes his head, and says, "Just reading a letter from Victoire."

It breaks my heart, it really does. Victoire's been away for two months now on her 'Sparkling Witch' tour, singing to thousands of fans around the globe, and yet she can't come home to spend time with her boyfriend on Christmas.

Oh, Teddy. You deserve better, I want to say to him. I also want to say, I could make you happier, but that's something I'm too scared to even think about let alone tell him. But seriously, if you knew him, you would be infatuated too. I know he's seven years older than me but I'm mature for my age (I've been told so). And anyway, age is just a number, right? Teddy Lupin is the type of guy every girl wants to settle down with some day; he's got a great sense of humour, is sweet, romantic, and he's freaking hot. Occasionally he does change the way his nose curves or how smouldering his eyes are, but I'm pretty sure most of the time he goes by his natural genetic gifts.

"Look, Louis, its Teddy!" I say, waving at Teddy. Ahh, nothing like using the baby to flirt. Yes, this is the extent of my flirting skills.

Teddy grins and comes over to us. "Hey, little guy," he says. He puts his hand up to a high-five, and Louis slaps his palm.

"He's going to sleep now," I say. "Say goodnight, Teddy."

"Groo-ahhhhhh!"

Okay, maybe he's a little hyper for sleep.

Teddy laughs, and it's all deep and rumbling. "Goodnight, Louis."

Teddy goes to join the adults downstairs in their talk, and eventually, after Louis finally falls asleep (he insisted on pulling at my hair a few times - I think the red fascinates him) I join my cousins in the rumpus room.

Unfortunately they're still getting a right kick out of testing out the Tingling Tonsils. I'm considering going back downstairs and reading Molly's book over her shoulder or something, when Dominique chimes in, "You guys are so immature."

So we agree on something.

"Let's play a drinking game," she says.

Ugh.

Her and Roxanne, obviously done with their girl talk, shuffle over and invade the circle. Dominique places a bottle of some vile amber liquid in the middle of the circle and accio's some shot glasses from the kitchen.

"We saw that!" comes the voice of Ginny from downstairs.

"None for anyone under seventeen!" reassures Dominique.

She passes one to James, Albus, and Roxanne. None for me. I don't like to drink, but I'm kind of annoyed she just assumes I'm too much of a goody-two-shoes to not join in.

"What about Rose?" points out Hugo.

"Rose is sixteen," says Roxanne.

"I'm seventeen."

"Oh."

"Want a glass, Rose?" Dominique says.

Well, since she asked…

"Alright."

Albus widens his eyes at me. I ignore him.

James spells some cups and juice our way so Lily, Lucy, and Hugo can feel like they're a part of it. Lily insists on being the one to serve the whiskey into everyone's glasses. I catch her pouring some into her cup, and a bit for Lucy. Dominique's too busy explaining the rules to notice - not that she'd care. Incidentally, I don't particularly care either so I don't say anything.

"-gets the lowest number drinks. Got it?"

No, I didn't. But Roxanne has got a pack of Exploding Snaps and is handing them around the circle. I have no idea what's going on, and soon enough it's pretty clear that the only people that do are Dominique and Roxanne.

Albus gets the fastest match but they yell, "Drink!"

James also has to drink because he looked to the left. Apparently that is a rule now.

"Drink!" they shriek at me when I scratch my head. What?

I grimace as the alcohol burns its way down my throat and settles into a warm spot in my gut.

"This is stupid," Lily whines.

"Yeah," says Hugo and Albus.

"Let's play Truth or Dare," Lily suggests, her face lighting up.

"Me first," says James. "Albus. Truth or dare?"

"Ummm, da-"

"Okay, truth. Have you snogged Adele Zabini?"

"Oooooh," Lily and Lucy chorus.

Albus shoots him a glare. "No. Now your turn. Truth. Have you ever snogged Greta Longbottom?"

Now its James' turn to glare. He chooses not to answer and knocks back his drink.

And it goes on. Now the game is just Truth or Truth. Hugo asks Lily if she would ever date Lorcan Scamander ("Ewww, noooo"); Lily asks Albus if he would ever go out with Adele Zabini ("She's just a friend!"); Roxanne asks Dominique if she thinks Andrew McLaggen is hot ("He's decent"); and Lucy, missing the whole point of the game, asks Roxanne if she could introduce her to Andrew McLaggen.

"Me, too!" chimes in Lily.

James and Albus look alarmed.

"He's too old for you," says James. "You, too," he says to Lucy.

Lucy shrugs.

"He's so dreamy," Lily gushes.

"Rose," says Dominique. Great. Time to share my inexperience with my understanding family. "Have you ever," she begins with a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes, "kissed a boy?"

I panic. Before I can think of some witty rebuttal, my face goes bright red.

"You've never kissed a boy?" Lily gasps, looking at me as if I've just admitted to never having access to clean drinking water.

"No, I- Well, actually-" I begin to explain.

"Wait-" says James, interrupting my babbled nonsense. "Who have you kissed?" he asks Lily.

Good point. She's a fourth year; when I was in fourth year I thought sharing saliva was the most grossest, counter-intuitive way of showing affection. But then again, this is Lily Potter we're talking about.

"No one," she says meekly.

"Who?" James presses.

Lucy has a wicked smile on her face, and Lily punches her in the arm.

"Next question!" Lily says.

"How long ago? Was he older? Was he in my year, or Albus'? What kind of a sicko takes advantage of a little girl-"

"I'm not a little girl."

"Leave her alone," Dominique says. "She's old enough to be kissing boys. I was at her age."

"Hence my concern," says James.

Dominique sits up. "Arsehole."

"Well, whoever it is, make sure he likes you for you," Roxanne provides.

Yeah, really helpful, Roxanne.

"I'm not kissing him now," Lily says.

"Good," says James.

Lily huffs.

"This game is boring," says Hugo.

"Yeah," says Lucy.

"Yeah, I'm over it now," Dominique says.

And for some reason, all of them happen to look at me in unison, and I know what they're thinking. Rose Weasley is such a loser. But I don't particularly care about that. If I did I would've blurted out a huge secret I've been harbouring all holidays: that on the night before Christmas break, I snogged Scorpius Malfoy.