It was Christmas Eve, 2017, and all of the Weasleys were together, seated around four enormous tables in the garden of the Burrow as they had done every single year. They had mostly spent the morning sleeping, enjoying their holidays from school and work, and now everyone was chatting happily and awaiting their dinner. Victoire looked around, and practically had to crane her neck to see every single member of her family. To Victoire's left was Dominique, then Molly, Lucy, Roxanne, Fred, James, Albus, Rose, Louis, Hugo, Lily, Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Percy, Audrey, Angelina, George, Charlie, Arthur, Molly, Bill, and Fleur.
There was a sudden crack at the garden gate, and Teddy Lupin arrived. Victoire ran to the gate, and he picked her up, swung her around in a circle, and kissed her on the forehead. She giggled and kissed him back. "Hi, Teddy. We missed you, what took so long?"
"Sorry, Vic, Auror training ran late. Hi, everyone!" he said, waving at the crowd.
He was swarmed with hugs from all the cousins, and eventually managed to detach them all and take a seat next to Victoire. "Happy Christmas Eve!"
Harry poured him a glass of eggnog, and the family began to eat. It was remarkable, really, how quickly food could disappear in the Weasley household- in half an hour, they had gone through four courses and were now vigorously devouring dessert, which was comprised of several chocolate cakes and was gone in practically a matter of seconds. After the food was over, the children went to play in the moonlit garden, shrieking happily.
"To Christmas Eve!" said Ron, raising his glass of eggnog. Everyone else followed suit. The toast was a tradition in the Weasley family; started several years ago, each member of the family would announce what they were proud of accomplishing in the last year and then down a full glass of eggnog or firewhisky. This was the first year that Victoire was old enough to drink, and she was excited to participate.
Harry cleared his throat. "I'll start. I'm proud that Albus started Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor, I'm proud that James made the Quidditch team, and I'm proud that Lily got her first pet last month." He poured the contents of his glass down his throat, and everyone cheered.
Ron raised his glass. "I'm proud that Hugo managed to beat Harry in wizard's chess, and that Rosie beat Scorpius Malfoy in midterms," he said, smirking and drinking. Hermione elbowed him.
"I'm proud that I've raised a normal, nonjudgmental household that accepts the rights of house-elves and other creatures, and agrees that everyone is created equal," she said, glaring at Ron. He chuckled sheepishly and gave her a quick kiss.
"Hear hear," said Percy. "I'm proud that my beautiful children are both training to become Healers, so that they can help other less fortunate people."
Audrey smiled. "I'm proud that my husband has just been promoted!" The table cheered again.
Angelina, George, Charlie, Ginny, Molly, Fleur all took their turns, with Teddy, Victoire, and Bill left.
Bill cleared his throat. "I'm proud that my lovely, talented daughter turned seventeen and is now legally an adult and not a little kid anymore. I love you, butterfly," he said, choking up. Victoire felt herself start to tear up and hugged her father tenderly. "Awww," everyone chorused.
Teddy smiled at her. "I'm proud that Victoire and I have celebrated three years together, and that I'm close to completing my Auror training," he said, and the table clapped
Ginny winked at Victoire. "Your turn, darling," she said. Everyone looked at her expectantly.
Victoire beamed and raised her glass. "I'm proud that I have a huge, loving family that I know will always take care of me forever, and I'm glad that I get to spend this time with them," she said, and everyone hugged her. She lifted her glass and tipped the contents down her throat. Everyone cheered. Even Bill, who only looked a little bit overprotective as his little girl drank and kissed her boyfriend.
The revelry continued for another hour, everyone becoming more and more giddy. Finally, it grew late, and everyone went upstairs to bed.
Late at night, after the rest of her family had gone to sleep, Victoire rose silently, threw a robe and slippers over her pajamas, and crept downstairs all alone. She snuck past James and Fred, who were still awake even at the late hour, planning their next prank. She tiptoed past Rose, who was staring at a picture of her boyfriend Scorpius with a dreamy expression on her face that was rather unlike her. She glanced into the room that Dominique, Roxanne, Molly and Lucy were sharing, where the girls were engrossed in a game of Truth or Dare. Finally, Victoire made it down to the living room and curled up on the couch, wrapping a blanket around herself and somehow managing to resist eating the plate of cookies and milk that was left out for Father Christmas.
She loved being here, surrounded by the aura of Christmas-ness that was in the air. The tree towered in front of her, sparkling invitingly, adorned with ornaments that had been handed down through generations or made by the cousins when they were little. Victoire spotted a small paper butterfly that she'd created years and years ago. The house smelled of warm chocolate chip cookies and spiced cider, and the living room floor was covered with presents for all of the Weasley relatives (and Teddy, who was practically a Weasley anyway), all wrapped in colorful paper and shiny bows. The mantel was strung with mistletoe and twenty-six stockings, and the whole house was strung with paper chains, golden bells, and wreaths, courtesy of Rose and Lily.
Victoire loved Christmas Eve even more than she liked Christmas Day itself. Because on Christmas Day, all the food would be eaten, and the presents would be opened, and there would be nothing to look forward to anymore. But on Christmas Eve, everyone was in a good mood, and the little kids were excited about Father Christmas coming, and stockings and cookies and milk were out, and the tree was still bursting with presents, and the whole family was together, singing carols, and laughing, and drinking eggnog, and it was one of the happiest days of the whole year. So naturally, it made sense that Victoire wanted to sit down here, surrounded by the holiday atmosphere, instead of up in her bed alone, freezing cold.
She wasn't planning to, but eventually she fell asleep right then and there. She'd been so warm, covered in the blanket and lying on the soft couch, and it was so late that she had closed her eyes for a few seconds and had dozed off.
Teddy, bless him, found her there an hour later, her blonde hair spilling over the arm of the sofa. She looked so sweet down there, surrounded by presents and cookies and stockings, so tiny and delicate that he almost regretted placing a hand on her shoulder and causing her to startle. "Shh, shh, it's all right, Vic, it's just me."
She recovered quickly, smiling at him. "Hi, Teddy. What're you doing up?"
"I could ask you the same thing. I came to find you, actually. I missed you."
She blushed. "Sorry, I just felt like coming down here. The tree looked kinda lonely."
He chuckled softly. "Well, I was lonely without you. Can I wait down here with you?"
"Of course," she said, stretching out her arms. He came over to sit next to her, and she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He rearranged her blanket, wrapping it around both of them and putting his arm around her waist.
"I love Christmas Eve," she said dreamily. He kissed her.
"I love you."
"Love you too, Teddy."
They stayed there, wrapped up in each other, time seeming to slowing down. They could have been there for minutes, or hours, or even days, but everything just seemed to melt away in that moment.
Teddy stirred after a while, glancing at the clock on the mantel, which read 12:27. "Look, Vic, it's Christmas Day."
"Oh, it is!I didn't realize we'd been here so long."
"So, I suppose this would be an appropriate time to give you your present. It took me forever to pick this out, because I had to find something that was good enough for my perfect girlfriend."
She smiled at him. "Oh, Teddy, you didn't have to."
"No, I wanted to. Now hold on a second, let me find it," he said, rising from the couch with a yawn and rooting through the enormous pile of presents that lay under the tree. She giggled at the sight of him practically drowning in a sea of gifts.
"Want some help?"
"No, I found it, thanks," he said quickly, emerging triumphantly with a small silver box wrapped in a cream-colored ribbon. He came back to her, resuming his seat. "Go ahead, open it."
She took the box gently and began to undo the ribbon, working carefully. Teddy loved watching her open her presents; she always took the utmost care to make sure that the wrapping paper remained in one piece. He looked at her fondly. She looked so angelic even in her pajamas, with her cascading blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. But she was more than just a pretty face; she was the most fascinating girl that he ever had the fortune to meet. And she was his girlfriend.
When she opened the lid, she gasped. "Oh, Teddy, it's beautiful!" She lifted her present out of the small white box, admiring it.
She was holding a small silver necklace with a butterfly pendant. It must have cost him several Galleons; a tall order since he was still on a student's loan for Auror training. It was beautiful, and Victoire thought that it was the nicest thing that anyone had ever gotten her.
He grinned, elated at her response. "It's symbolic, see? The chain is like the rest of the world and your family, and how it's all intertwined together. And then there's you, and you're the butterfly, because you're special and you stand out. You're pretty, and gentle, and you could fly to wherever you want to if you just spread your wings and believe in yourself." He fastened the necklace around her throat, trying not to fumble with the clasp.
The look in her eyes was one of love and tenderness. "That's the sweetest thing ever, Teddy. And you know what? I will fly to wherever I want to. As long as I'm with you."
"I love you, Victoire."
"I love you too, Teddy."
"Happy Christmas."
"It'll always be happy when you're here," she agreed, and Victoire Weasley knew that the true magic of Christmas Eve was being around someone that you loved.
A/N: Sigh, I think my writing gets worse every day. Oh well, this was fun to write, and my entry about Rose will be up eventually too. Please review? Pretty please with butterbeer on top? :D